Coupling and buffing mechanism.



s. SIMONSON.

COUPLING AND BUFFING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5. 1915.

I 1.,174i094. Patented Mar. 7,1916.

WITNESSES INVENTOR $2 6 A g imgw UNITED STATES PATENT "OFFICE.

SIGVARD SIMONSON, on Burma, PENNSYLVANIA, hssre vorv E ONE-HALF r0WENDEL JOHN MEYER, 0E BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA.

' To all whomi it may concern.

Be it known that'I, SIGVARD SiMoNsoN, a resident of Butler,in the countyofButl'er and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Coupling and Bufli'ng Mechanism, ofwhich the following isa specification.

, This invention relates to a coupling and buffing mechanism for railwaycars.

The object of the invention is to rovide a coupling and'bufiingmechanism so constructed that the line of stress in the draft beamsunder impacts suflicient'to exceed the capacity of the draft gear isparallel with the lines of buffing and tugging stresses.

With draft and-coupling mechanism as usually constructed, when an impactsufficient to exceed the capacity of the draft gear is applied to thecoupler, the inner face of the coupler head strikes a buffer casting orstriker plate, on the end of the car under frame. As the head isprovided with only one bufiing horn (usually the top), forces at anangle to the axial line ofthe draft rigging are set up by the impact ofthis horn with the striker plate, and these forces have a greatertendency to wrench or buckle'the draft beams or other arts of the carstructure than were the forces concentric'with the axis of the saiddraft sills. Such angular forces are avoided in the present constructionby roviding the inner face of the coupler hea with a plurality ofbufiing horns, or a horn extending all around the coupler head, soarranged that when there is an impact between the couplerhead and buflercasting, the force of such impact is dis tributed evenly about the axialline of the I rig isg. 40 b The present construction is also soa' angedthat no angular forces are set up upon either straight tracks or uponcurves, should an impact between the coupler and bufier head occur.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a horizontal section through the buffercasting and draft beams showing the coupler and parts of the draft gearin plan; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same; Fig. 3 is anend elevation of the outer face of the coupler; Fig. 4 is a view similartoFig. 1 but showing a difl'erentform of buffer casting and couplerhead, Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a coupler showing a modifiedarrangement of the buffing horns upon the head thereof; and Fig. 6 is asimilar view showing a single Specification of'Letters Patent.-

horn extending entirely around the coupler head.

The device'jin its general features follows the usual elements of draftand coupling mechanism of'standard Master Car Builders type. The draftrigging is secured be,

tween draft sills 1 located, as is usual in the different conditions ofuse. A suitable draft spring. or friction gear mechanism of the-customary form will also be provided, but 1s not shown. The coupler 8is provided with the usualknuckle 9 and shank 10 extending into thedraft rigging. The locking means for the knuckle is not shown. To

the forward ends-of the draft beams is secured the buffer casting orstriker plate 11 against which the inner face of the coupler headstrikes when cars are brought together under strong impact, so that toogreat a compression of the springs between the follower plates isavoided, and the blow is taken directly by the car frame, as has beenmentioned above. If only one bufling horn on the coupler head isprovided, upon the upper faceof the coupler, forces at an angle to theaxial line of the coupler shank 10 and draft gear?) are set up, asmentioned above. In order to distribute the forces of such impacts aboutthe axial line of the draft gear and to avoid the tendency to bucklewhich occurs when a force at an angle to such a line is set up, theinner face of the coupler is provided with'a plurality of bufiing horns12 arranged uniformly around the central axial line of the coupler anddraft gear. These may be either upon the corners -of the head at thinner face thereof, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, or at the centerof twoopposite sides of the coupler head, or at the center of each side of thecoupler. head, as shown in Fig. 5. In its simplest form and as arrangedfor use upon cars where curves in the track are not numerous, the outerface 13 of the buffer casting or striker plate and the striking surfaces14 of the buffer horns may be flat, as shown in Fig. 5. In order thatthe same result may be obtained when stron impacts are received while oncurves, the ace 13 of Patented Mar. '7, 1916. Application filed March 5,1915. Serial m 12,256.

the buffer casting orstriker plate 9 is formedon the arc of a circle,and the contacting faces 14 of the bufling horns 10 are upon an arc of acircleof equal radius, as shown in Fig. 1. Moreover, the inner end ofthe coupler shank is preferably rounded on an arc of a circle of radiusconcentric to that upon which the face of the horns 12 of the couplerare formed, and a correspondingly curved seat is formed in the face ofthe forward follower plate, so that their engagement corresponds to thatbethereto.

tween the buffing horns and striker plate. By this arrangement when thecar is on a curve, the coupler can swing outwardly, and if an impactsufli'eient to cause the coupler head to impinge against the strikerplate is delivered to the cars the thrust upon the coupler isdistributedby the curved faces of the coupling horns and striker plateand by the rounded engagement between the cou- 'pleI' shank 10 andforward follower plate 5 so that it is delivered tothe draft sills as astraight blow along their axial line,

and no angular stresses are set up. Insteadof a plurality of hornsarranged uniformly about the axis of the draft gear, the outer end ofthe coupler head may be provided with a single horn extending entirelytherearound and having'a face cut on an arc of the same circle as theface 00f the striker plate.

This invention entirely does away with all angular stresses which wouldadd to the compression or tensile stresses in the draft sill or otherparts of the car structure and distributes the stresses around thecentral axis, and by means of simple modifications which add practicallynothing to the expense of manufacture. The improvements, moreover, aresuch that they can be applied to the standard Master Car Builderscoupler without changing the form or proportion of the usual parts, sothat coupling mechanism made according to thisinvention will engage withand be interchangeable with all Master Car Builders couplers now in use.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to thespecific forms disclosed in the drawing and description, and that nolimitations other than those incorporated in the claims are to beapplied ranged relative thereto and presenting buffer outer surface,draft means, a coupler shank faces at the inner end of said'coupler headequidistant from the striker plate when out of contact therewith.

2. In coupling and'bufiing mechanism, the combination with a yieldingdraft gear, of

a striker plate having a coupler shank opening and buffer surfaces aboveand below and to the sides of the axis of said opening, of a couplershank extending through said opening and havinga swinging engagementwith the draft gear, a coupler head on said shank, and buifer horns onsaid head located above, below and to the sides ,of the centrallongitudinal axis of said coupler shank and sym: metrically arrangedrelative thereto and presenting bufier faces at the inner face of saidcoupler head equi-distant from the striker plate when out of contacttherewith.

3. A coupling and bufiing mechanism,

comprising a striker plate having a curved having a swinging engagementtherewith, a coupler head on said shank, and a pluralityof bufling hornsdisposed each at a corner of said coupler head and having faces cut onan arc of the samecircle as the face of the striker vplate.

1. A coupling and bufling mechanism, comprising a striker plate having acurved outer surface, draft means, a coupler shank having a swingingengagement therewith, a

coupler head on said shank, and a plurality of bufling horns spacedequal distances from the central line of said coupler head and havingfaces out on an arc of the same circle as the face of the striker plate.

5. coupling and bufiingmechanism, comprising draft means, a couplershank extending into said draft means -and having connection therewith,the inner extremity of the coupler shank being formed on the arc of acircle and the contacting portion of the draft means being similarlydished to engage therewith, a striker plate having an outer face curvedon an arc of a circle concentric with the dished portion of the draftmeans, and a coupler head provided on its inner face with bufling meansarranged at every point of contact with the striker plate to presentthereto a surface cut .on an arc of the same circle as the outer face ofthe striker plate.

6. A coupling and buffing mechanism, comprising draft means, a strikerplate having a curved outer face, a coupler head provided with aplurality of bufiing horns disposed thereon at equal distances aroundthe having faces cut on an arc of the samecircle as the face of thestriker plate, and a .,central axial line of said draft means and ingrounded on an arc of a'circle concentric withthe circular face of thecoupler horns,

and thecontacting part of the draft means being similarly dished toengage therewith.

' 7. A coupling and buffing mechanism, comprising draft means, a strikerplate havin'g/a curved: outer face, a coupler head provided witha'plurality of bufiing horns disposed at the corners thereof and spacedequal distances around the centralaxial line of said draft means andhaving faces cut on the draft means being similarly dished to engagetherewith.

8. Acoupling and buffing mechanism, comprising draft means, a strikerplate having a curved outer face, a-coupler head provided with aplurality of bufling horns 'spa'ced equal distances around the centralaxial line of said vdraft means and having faces cut on an arc'of thesame circle as the face of the striker plate, and a couplershankextending into the draft means and having connection therewith, theinner extremity of the coupler shank being rounded on an arc of a circleconcentric with the circular face of the coupler horns, and thecontacting part of the .draft means being similarly dished to engagetherewith.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set" my hand.

, SIGVARD SIMONSON.

Witnesses:

A B. KEMPER, E. 'E. BELL.

